DVD Animals Cats

By night, they're ruthless hunters that stalk their prey with a keen sense of sight and smell. By day, they're playful, loving companions for millions. Today, cats outnumber dogs as America's favorite pet. Worshipped in ancient Egypt and persecuted during medieval times, domestic cats over the centuries have been feared and adored. As comforting companions, cats provide therapy for the elderly and autistic. But as dramatic sequences show, the behavior of cats is never far removed from that of their cousins in the wild. If you've ever wondered why cats always land on all four feet or what makes them purr, join National Geographic for Cats: Caressing the Tiger.

More than 600 million claim residence in households across six continents, and now they may have dethroned dogs as the most popular pet on earth. An exterminator, fierce hunter, and favorite companionaloof and affectionate at the same timethe cat leapt out of the woods and adopted us on its own terms thousands of years ago. But how did man and beast form their unconventional relationship? From mummified cats unearthed in Egypt to bizarre genetic mutations discovered around the globe, National Geographic presents the latest scientific evidence to reveal how cats and people set off on a journey along the same road.

The friendly faces of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary return in a third season of heart-gripping and heart-warming stories. The sanctuary, home and rehabilitation center to hundreds of dogs from all over the country, serves to heal and re-home sick and abandoned animals under a policy of kindness and compassion for all.

South African filmmaker, John "JV" Varty, has spent some forty years photographing and working with big cats. His efforts were instrumental in helping Londolozi Game Reserve become one of the world’s premiere spots to view wild leopards. As the 21st Century began, Varty turned his attention to arguably the most endangered of big catsthe tiger.

Venture into the dense forests of coastal Siberia to track the biggest cat on earth, the elusive Siberian Tiger. You'll join a team of Russian and American scientists who are risking their lives to save this highly endangered and highly dangerous creature. Some 300 Siberian tigers survive in the wild, concentrated in a shrinking habitat and under siege from poachers. Against incredible odds, this daring band of wildlife biologists is determined to help the Siberian Tiger fight back. National Geographic cameras are on-hand to record many never-before-seen moments in tiger conservation: Researchers hastily enter a den to tag a two-month-old cub before the mother returns. A female tiger charges up a tree, attempting to attack a hovering helicopter. Team members race to revive a sedated tiger, even giving it mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

National Geographic returns to the heart of Utah canyon country to visit DogTown, part of the largest no-kill animal facility in the United StatesThe Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. At any given time, the sanctuary provides a home for hundreds of dogs and is the last hope for dogs that have no place left to go.

Pumas, ocelots and the elusive jaguar all live in the dense tropical forest but filming them is far from an easy task. Starlight, thermal and infrared cameras are deployed throughout the forest, together with remotely operated cameras suspended above and on the forest floor. With the forest wired for night vision, it's only a matter of time before the team start to discover mysterious big cats.

To reveal the secrets of the most mysterious of all big cats, a crack team of conservationists hire one of the U.S.'s finest trackers, Boone Smith, to locate, capture and film wild jaguars using all means necessary. Jaguars are notoriously elusive, and consequently the least studied of all big cats. Chance sightings and occasional captures have helped explain some aspects of jaguars' lives, but mostly they operate beyond the reach of scientists. Boone’s mission clashes his experience in the wilderness of the Rockies with the hazards of Belize's jungles and Brazil's swamps. He needs to learn quickly from local experts and draw deeply on his own expertise to achieve their goal: to reveal startling new insights into the hidden lives of these magnificent creatures.

Naturalist Casey Anderson and cat expert, Tyler Johnerson, set out to track one of North America’s most elusive ghosts: the mountain lion. Armed with specialized camera technology, Casey and Tyler hope to document "never before seen" footage of mountain lions living in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Aided by Tyler’s keen hound dogs, the same strategy employed by leading cat researchers, Tyler and Casey get hot on the heels of this formidable and cunning predatoran animal capable of jumping vertically nearly twenty feet in a single leap and taking prey much larger than its distant relation, the bobcat.

Journey across land and sea as National Geographic reveals amazing animal behavior and never-before-seen moments in the wild with this best-of anthology of three miniseries: Great Migrations, Untamed Americas, and Secret Life of Predators.

Jobs that Bite! is hosted by actor and outdoor enthusiast Jeremy Brandt, who travels across the country to experience a wide array of animal jobsincluding ostrich wrangling, wild bee hive rescue, lion dentistry, and patrolling with the mounted policeand the amazingly adept professionals that have found job satisfaction outside of the office.

The natural world is full of amazing stories, but sometimes animals act in ways that seemingly go against all their instincts. From an elephant standing guard over a sick dog, to a giant tortoise adopting a baby hippo, and a lioness that ignores all the laws of nature to look after a baby oryx, this heart-warming series examines the cases of animals that have struck up unusual relationships.

The dog is the ultimate human creation. With 400 breeds and counting, the dog is more varied in size and behavior than any other species on the planet. National Geographic looks at man's evolutionary manipulation of dogs' appearance, talents and temperamentand the accelerating efforts to create breeds to suit our needs (more than 80 percent of today's breeds did not exist 150 years ago). From desirable traits like supersensitive hearing and smell to the unintended consequences of genetic diseases, learn how nature and man have partnered to deliberately create new and specialized versions of man's best friend.

Equipped with three-inch long canines and retractable claws like switchblades, big cats are among the fiercest and most fascinating beasts on the planetcapable of taking down fleet footed antelope or two ton elephants. National Geographic crawls through African grasslands and swamps of India to track and reveal the ultimate engineering and ambush tactics of lions, tigers, and leopards.

The Serengeti in northern Tanzania is one of the world's last great wildlife refuges, teeming with crocs, leopards, cheetahsand one of the biggest lion populations in Africa, with approximately 3,500 lions in 300 prides. But one pride looms large in the Serengeti kingdom: a single dynasty ruling the plains to which hundreds of lions trace their roots. Experience the Serengeti through their eyes and discover how this great pride is exploding in size.

Journey to the heart of the forests depicted in Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book for an unprecedented look at one tigress's struggle to raise her cubs and survive in the wild. From high atop an elephant's backthe safest way to see these fierce creatures up closeNational Geographic's wildlife filmmakers track 12-year-old Bengal tigress Lakshmi and her three tiger cubs for two full years.

The mysterious puma. Only a lucky few have ever seen this magnificent cat that prowls the Andes. For two years, acclaimed natural history filmmaker Hugh Miles lived among Patagonia's pumas, capturing never-before-seen images of this shy, secretive predator. Experience the unprecedented trust formed between the filmmaker and an extraordinary puma he calls Penny. His camera, equipped with a special night-vision lens, reveals the triumphs and tragedies of Penny's life: She finds a mate, gives birth to three cubs, and guides her offspring through daily struggles against starvation and poaching. It is rare for a totally wild creature to allow a human to come so close, and Hugh Miles makes the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Now, you too can walk in the path of the Puma: Lion of the Andes.

On Christmas Day 2007, a 243-pound Siberian tiger named Tatiana escaped from her open-air enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo and mauled three young men. Before long, one 17-year-old boy and the 4-year-old tigress lay dead. The incident was the first time a visitor was killed by an escaped animal at an accredited zoo in the United States. Zoo Tiger Escape investigates the how and why of what really happened that nightfrom the possible motivational factors that led the tiger to escape, to the complex evolution of enclosure design. The show provides exclusive documentary access to the San Francisco Zoo's efforts to reconstruct its tiger enclosure, as well as candid interviews with zoo staff members on the tragedy.

More than three years in the making, Lions of the African Night reveals the savage secrets of Africa after dark. As night descends on the bushveld, a pride of 30 lions begins its nightly search for prey. Baboons snuggle in tree tops, big-eyed apes leap from limb to limb, and the chorus of the small creatures adds to the drama of the nocturnal hunt. Lions of the African Night will surprise you with a startling look at the behavior of lions as the pride stalks wildebeest, warthog, and zebra in the struggle to fight off hunger, their constant enemy.

From acclaimed filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert, The Unlikely Leopard is the coming of age story of a young male leopard with a distinct personality. Join National Geographic as we follow this leopard through his life stages, from clumsy cub and stubborn teenager to independent adult. Get an extraordinary, up-close view into this leopard’s life from when he is a few weeks old to when he has to move away from his mother and off into the wide world, living on his instincts and adapting to his oversized paws and lack of experience.

Called by one philosopher "the noblest beast God ever made," dogs have served humankind in more ways than any other animal. You'll see loyal canines at work as they search for buried victims of an earthquake disaster, assist the physically disabled, and pull sleds in the blizzard conditions of Alaska. Find out how dogs are trained to "act" on the Lassie television show, and meet dogs that served as messengers on the battlefields of WWII.

National Geographic’s wildlife adventure movie, The Last Lions, tells the suspense-filled tale of a determined lioness ready to try anything to keep her family alive. Created by pioneering filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert, this beautifully shot film tells the tale of Ma di Tau (“Mother of Lions”) and her fragile cubs as they must take a perilous journey through raging fire, rival prides, croc-infested rivers, and deadly buffalo in order to survive.

In the ultimate canine ancestral story, National Geographic explores the genetic journey from wolf to dog. Travel back 100,000 years to meet the "mother of all dogs" and trace the evolution of her descendents over the eons, even as we evolved ourselvesfrom cave dwellers to modern humans. Find out what scientists are learning about dogs' unique ability to communicate with humans, and how powerful brain chemicals work to cement our affection for each other. Delve into the history of selective breeding and see how man created dogs to serve our needs as laborers, companions, hunters, herders, and warriors, as well as to suit our aesthetic fancy.

Come face-to-face with the world’s top felines in this stunning collection of six National Geographic specials. This collectible set captures never-before-seen footage of lions, leopards, jaguars, and tigers fighting to survive and thrive in their native habitats.

From the air, ground, and trees, National Geographic investigates the hunting tactics within elite predatory unitswild dog and lion packs. Featuring amazing cinematography and innovative CGI techniques, The Pack reveals fascinating details of the huntstarting with the first trigger to the climactic feeding frenzy, the battle with scavengers…and the hungry individuals left only with scraps.

National Geographic follows a group of four-legged forces to be reckoned with in today’s workplace. They diagnose bladder cancer by the smell of a patient’s urine. They bust drug smugglers hiding massive quantities of marijuana. They locate people trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings. And they apprehend criminals fleeing the scene of the crime. Their work is challenging, stressful and often dangerous, but for the thousands of highly trained working dogs that clock in for duty each morning, it’s all in a day’s work.